The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) attended the 2009 Commodity Classic last week in Grapevine, Texas. The group has attended the event for more than ten years promoting E85 and flexible fuel vehicles. This was my tenth Commodity Classic attendance on behalf of the NEVC.
Phil Lampert, my Executive Director, NEVC Membership Director Haley Wansing and I met with many of the state corn grower groups to inform them of our successes and what our outlined plans are for the future. NEVC Vice-Chairman and Ohio Corn Growers Executive Director Dwayne Siekman said, “The Commodity Classic is an important time for policy development for the Ohio Corn Growers Association and we often confer with partnering organizations for background information. Without groups like the NEVC and their knowledge on higher ethanol blends and updates on certification of dispensing equipment, the policy development process may not be complete.”
As part of the NEVC staff, I was pleased to see such an intense interest from every state on ethanol policy. Our group appreciates the support of the National Corn Growers Association and each of our fourteen corn grower state organizations.
The NEVC also sponsored a booth in the Commodity Classic’s exhibition hall. Displayed were two flexible fuel vehicles: a 2009 FFV King Ranch F-150 and a 2008 FFV GM Silverado (provided by CleanFUEL USA). I believe the attendees enjoyed seeing the FFV options that Ford and GM have available for use on their farms.
According to Reuters, members of the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition said they want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue a waiver to allow the sale of 13 percent ethanol blends. U.S. governors who want to see more ethanol production said they are optimistic regulators will soon boost the allowed blend rate for ethanol in gasoline to 13 percent from 10 percent.
Alternative fuels, such as biodiesel and natural gas, and hybrid electric vehicles could be the keys to cleaning up the world’s ports, polluted by the running of petroleum diesel enginesto onload and offload the goods coming and going through these points of commerce.
The Chicago Farmers, a group that provides educational forums between its members and those allied to agribusiness, will talk energy matters during its next meeting on Monday, March 16th at the University of Northern Illinois-Naperville campus.
According to a 
The 2009 
The annual SAE Challenge began in 2000 and tests the engineering and design capabilities of students from schools across the country. The “challenge” of each competition has been for students to modify a stock snowmobile to meet a series of requirements, including air pollution levels. 
“Today’s meeting is just one step in the ongoing legal process that will ultimately conclude later this year. As we have since these investigations were initiated in June of last year, the NBB will continue to use all legal options at its disposal to defend the interests of the U.S. biodiesel industry.
According to year-end figures released by the Energy Information Administration, American ethanol facilities produced more than 9.2 billion gallons of ethanol in 2008, up from some 6.5 billion gallons in 2007. On average, the U.S. ethanol industry produced 601,000 barrels per day (b/d), compared to 423,000 in 2007. 
There are several new alternative energy grants available for wind energy and biomass energy. The first grant, “20% Wind by 2030: Overcoming the Challenges” was posted on February 27, 2009 and closes on March 5, 2009. The government is posed to award up to 99 grants for a total of $8 million. You can get more information and apply online at 
The study was commissioned by